He had been waiting 16 years for a heart transplant, which he got 10 years ago… Saturday.

He got Jeni’s father’s heart.

“Jeni wrote me a letter and she said ‘Dear Tom, I’m the daughter of the man who’s heart is inside of you and I’m gonna get married on August 6th,’”Thomas said. “‘And one further thing if you’re willing, would you walk me down the aisle?’”

“I was just so thankful that my dad could be here with us today in spirit and a piece of his physical being as well. That was really special for us,” Jeni said.

About the blogger

Bob Collins has been with Minnesota Public Radio since 1992, emigrating to Minnesota from Massachusetts. He was senior editor of news in the ’90s, ran MPR’s political unit, created the MPR News regional website, invented the popular Select A Candidate, started several blogs, and every day laments that his Minnesota Fantasy Legislature project never caught on.

NewsCut is a blog featuring observations about the news. It provides a forum for an online discussion and debate about events that might not typically make the front page. NewsCut posts are not news stories.